1.4 tsi turbo lag?

[harrylime]

I am thinking about buying a 1.4 tsi O3, and have been reading posts in an Audi forum that report turbo lag, and very little flexibility at low speeds with what I assume is the same engine. Some even say you need first gear at sharp 90 degree turns, because in second at low speeds, there is nothing there. Any tsi owners out there who can either conform this is an issue, or put my mind at rest?

thanks

[match14]

Not from what I have experienced, I find very is always plenty of power available from low revs.

[Octy0GG]

Odd one this as there are quite different perceptions / experience  of both performance and economy for this engine  - or perhaps the cars are not as identical as you might expect them to be.

 

I see you are coming from a 1.9 PD to the 1.4 TSI - same for me (Manual Octavia 2 1.9 PD).

 

On paper the 1.9 is very slow, 1.4 reasonably brisk. In daily driving the difference does not feel so great to me. Then again I am probably still getting re accustomed to petrol engine type RPM - a lot harder to adjust to than the adjustment from petrol to diesel.

 

Yes car does not have much pull in second in slow corners.

 

Also find that by the time engine is starting to labour in 6th you might as well go straight to fourth it wont do that much better in 5th.

 

Sounds grim but remember that by standards of old the 1.4 TSI is carrying very high gearing for a small engined family car.

 

[themanwithnoaim]

I think this may have more to do with throttle lag as the O3 uses a fly by wires accelerator, in Drive or Sport mode you won't experience any problems but, in Eco mode there is quite a lot of throttle lag. Mine has a Pedalbox and is a DSG hence, I don't have any such issue.

[harrylime]

To be honest I did test drive one of these a couple of months ago, although the salesman took me on a ridiculous route and I learned almost nothing. I intend to try another. On paper my 1.9 is slow but I've always found it to be fine on the road. My wife thinks it's like a rocket after her Panda. I don't want to take the leap and find my new car to be frustrating or annoying. I have considered a VRS but worry about ride comfort on the terrible roads in my area

[Octy0GG]

1 hour ago, harrylime said:

On paper my 1.9 is slow but I've always found it to be fine on the road. 

Agreed, because of the minimal lag and on demand torque from low revs this engine, to me, always felt faster than the on paper figures suggest. The only downside being that the higher reaches of the rev range were both unpleasant and pointless.

[glosrich]

A decent road test is the answer.

 

Maybe even hire one for a day?

 

[BoxerBoy]

We're almost 3,000 miles in with our 1.4 TSi DSG and I find that it can sometimes catch you out when rolling up to a juction or roundabout and then fall flat when you put your foot down from very low speed.

Normally happens when the car only changes down into 3rd or 2nd gear.

 

Very tricky if you were hoping to dive into a small gap in traffic.

 

Standing starts are no problem at all and if I'm ever in doubt, then I stop dead first.

 

I put it down to simple turbo lag combined with less low down torque, so the answer is to stay in charge of gears and keep the motor spinning. Oh, that's known as "driving" 

[MoggyTech]

Coming from a 2.0L CR VRS to the 1.4TSi 7 speed DSG I find the TSi to be quicker off the mark. If I'm in city traffic and need to get out of a junction quickly, I just flick the DSG into sports mode. As with any turbo only car you need to keep the revs above 2K so the turbo stays spooled up.

[Gerrycan]

I really don't think the 1.4tsi suffers from turbo-lag to any noticeable degree but there are small 'issues' that could give that impression.

 

I also come to the 1.4tsi from the 1.9d with its manual 5 speed box.

While the 1.9d was punchy from low revs, in the early days in our first diesel, both I and my wife frequently stalled it, certainly more than any other car (all petrol) that we had owned. This was despite it having a relatively high 900rpm tickover.

Once mastered not a problem and the low rev punchiness was then quite apparent from as low as 1200rpm, however it had a relatively narrow torque band and higher revs were unpleasant. Fortunately the gearbox was relatively smooth and the ratios well chosen.

2nd gear was particularly suited to low speed urban work.

 

The 1.4tsi is different. Remember it is a small capacity engine and relies on its turbo to provide the big engine feel.

Quite reasonably the turbo does not do a lot under 1500rpm. Sure you can happily potter around at those low revs with a light throttle using next to no fuel and is more forgiving at a very low rev pull away than the diesel (difference between spark and compression ignition I suppose).

As you pull away on a light throttle in 1st gear and let the clutch fully engage then there seems to be a slight lag, almost as if you have lifted the throttle lightly. I don't know why but is probably due to emission controls.

Since I have had the car I have felt that 2nd gear was a fraction high compared to first and the traffic calming back street mini roundabouts that, in other small engine cars, I have always comfortably managed in 2nd gear without slipping the clutch, well I either have to go a bit faster than I really want, or clutch slip slightly or if I had to stop stay in first for the whole 270 degree turn.

2nd is good for near 100kph if you red line it.

So from 1500 rpm no turbo lag at all, which is better than most cars.

 

I note the new 1.5tsi is supposed to pull from 1300rpm.

[iriches]

I came from a Mk1 1.9 TDI 110 to my Mk3 1.4 TSI.

 

Yes - the TSI does have a little more lag and a little less low-down torque - but I've never found it a significant issue.  The one place I notice it most is in heavy traffic that is just moving.  The old TDI would trundle along at near tickover in second.  The TSI is not happy doing this.  1st gear works just fine though.

 

However, if you offered me the TDI engine back in place of the TSI you would not get a polite response.

 

The quietness, smoothness, and power of the TSI, with only (for me) a 5-10% fuel economy penalty more than outweigh a tiny bit of low-rev weakness.

Edited 21 February, 2017 by iriches

[harrylime]

I will try another test drive. The lack of flexibility in second is a concern, because it's probably the most used gear in local driving. I may even take another look at a diesel, although the dpf is a big concern and all the signals are that diesel owners will be punished in the near future

 

[gregoir]

I came from a 2l PDI and honestly there is little noticeable difference in the performance. Occasionally there is a slight hesitation at low revs, but I attribute that to too low speed to get the turbo working properly.

[Geek42]

I think that this is just a case of being in the right gear at the right time. I agree that below 1500rpm in lower gears it can pick up gently with a tickle, but if you floor it there's nothing there, but if you want all the beans you should have more revs on. For my money 4th, 5th and 6th are too close together so I do quite a bit of block changing up and down (even 3rd to 6th and vice versa on occasion) but that doesn't make the car wrong, just drive it accordingly. It's not like you have to thrash it or anything, 2k rpm in this car is still a pretty refined and civilised place to be (after all, it's not a diesel!)

 

As with all these things, only you know what's good for you so go drive one and see.

[bob717]

+1

[bob717]

2 minutes ago, Geek42 said:

I think that this is just a case of being in the right gear at the right time. I agree that below 1500rpm in lower gears it can pick up gently with a tickle, but if you floor it there's nothing there, but if you want all the beans you should have more revs on. For my money 4th, 5th and 6th are too close together so I do quite a bit of block changing up and down (even 3rd to 6th and vice versa on occasion) but that doesn't make the car wrong, just drive it accordingly. It's not like you have to thrash it or anything, 2k rpm in this car is still a pretty refined and civilised place to be (after all, it's not a diesel!)

 

As with all these things, only you know what's good for you so go drive one and see.

 

Just now, bob717 said:

+1

 

[BoxerBoy]

6 hours ago, Geek42 said:

I think that this is just a case of being in the right gear at the right time . . .

 

I'll go with that. And it's in line with advance driving theory - "always be in a responsive gear" (so you're ready to Go or Slow)

 

The "feature" you get with DSG - that you may not always enjoy - is that it won't hold maximum revs when you want to get a move on as it automatically changes up when it decides the time has come.

This can be useful when you want it to do so, but annoys when you'd rather hold a gear longer or test the rev limiter  

 

On the flip side, you can change down 3 or 4 gears in a heartbeat using the paddles.

 

Im in love with DSG with paddles.

[Warrior193]

I find that my TSI has reasonable acceleration from down as low as about 1200 RPM - and that's with the higher profile winter tyres fitted, which have raised the gearing around 5%. No problem with speed humps or fairly short on-ramps in second gear.